The present invention relates to a method of epilation and more particularly to a method of epilation utilizing an electrolysis technique known as thermolysis.
In present methods of electrolysis for the removal of hair from a body, a probe containing a source of electrical energy is inserted into the hair shaft to a depth thought to be the depth of the root, and a burst of electrical energy is applied which is sufficient to destroy the blood vessels delivering blood to the papilla, resulting in its destruction. Tweezers then are employed to remove the hair shaft. The intensity of the energy applied is designed to be fully adequate to destroy the papilla.
There are a number of problems associated with the method of electrolysis as described above. By supplying electrical energy to develop sufficient heat to insure destruction of the papilla, there is as a consequence a certain frequency of skin burns, resulting in some disfiguration because of damage to the skin. In addition, it is quite a common occurrence to have hairs grow out of the same hair shaft, that is regrowth, shortly after the treatment, thereby requiring a repeat of the treatment covering the same area of the skin. This quite often leaves the customer or patient believing that the original treatment was not done properly. In fact, it has been found that what in most cases actually occurs is that one or more young papillas in the follicle is what results in the hair regrowth.
The problems noted above have tended to limit somewhat the acceptance and popularity of electrolysis as a method of hair removal whereas thermolysis is inherently a very safe, effective and economical technique once the problems noted above can be overcome.
The following U.S. Pat. Nos. illustrate current techniques and apparatus for epilation utilizing electrolysis: 3,035,580, 3,994,300, 4,216,775, 4,295,467, 4,388,924, 4,598,709, and 4,784,136. None of the preceding patents teaches or suggest the present invention.